Rocket launch carries 17 educational projects

WASHINGTON – Those living or working on the Eastern Shore and along the Chesapeake Bay will be able to catch a glimpse of a rocket launch Thursday morning.

The launch will take place at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility at Wallops Island in Virginia.

Seventeen educational experiments will be on board the 35-foot-rocket which will be launched to an altitude of 75 miles between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m. on June 21.

Rocket launches from Wallops Island have happened since 1945, and spokesperson Keith Koheler says business will pick up in the next few months, including two test flights of the Antares rocket later in the summer.

College students and professors from across the country built the experiments. When the rocket returns, they’ll conduct data analysis and discuss their results.

The project is part of the RockOn! college workshop and the Wallops Rocket Academy for Teachers and Students (WRATS) for high school teachers, The Examiner reports.

People within 60 miles or so will be able to see Thursday’s launch. The larger launches, however, will be seen throughout the region.

WTOP’s Hank Silverberg contributed to this report. Follow Hank and WTOP on Twitter.